as in features
formal
the appearance of a person's face; a person's facial features
He and his son have the same distinctive physiognomy.
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Recent Examples of physiognomy
Such methods are considered unreliable, in particular as they are often based on evidence sets from European children that don’t match the physiognomies of young people from other place in the world.
—
Frey Lindsay, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
Thus, the contribution of the men who formalized physiognomy (Johann Lavater) and phrenology (Franz Josef Gall) was systematizing a broader humoral worldview about the connection between body and character, and giving it the prestige of modern science.
—Literary Hub, 9 June 2025
Differences between Genovese and Costello come down to their marriages (the former to Kathrine Narducci’s Anna, the latter to Debra Messing’s Bobbie) and the physiognomy of make-up for the men’s superficial contrasts.
—Armond White, National Review, 21 Mar. 2025
Guston’s first comic for The Junior Times, a sparse strip drawn at age 12, introduced Little Snowball, a Black youth bearing exaggerated racial physiognomy and dialect.
—Walker Mimms, New York Times, 4 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for physiognomy
Frey Lindsay, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
Thus, the contribution of the men who formalized physiognomy (Johann Lavater) and phrenology (Franz Josef Gall) was systematizing a broader humoral worldview about the connection between body and character, and giving it the prestige of modern science.
—Literary Hub, 9 June 2025
Differences between Genovese and Costello come down to their marriages (the former to Kathrine Narducci’s Anna, the latter to Debra Messing’s Bobbie) and the physiognomy of make-up for the men’s superficial contrasts.
—Armond White, National Review, 21 Mar. 2025
Guston’s first comic for The Junior Times, a sparse strip drawn at age 12, introduced Little Snowball, a Black youth bearing exaggerated racial physiognomy and dialect.
—Walker Mimms, New York Times, 4 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for physiognomy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for physiognomy
Noun
-
Food and drink The Alexandar Bar is one of the hotel’s stand-out features.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 May 2026
-
Its drafting features combine deterministic drafting with AI to enable complex and accurate drafting at scale.—
AllBusiness,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
At least one person was killed by a gunman at the Islamic Center of San Diego today, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement.—
Dennis Romero,
NBC news,
19 May 2026
-
Clark attended an elementary and a middle school in person at the district, but following the pandemic his family enrolled him online schooling full time, Canning said.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Still, his touchdown with a minute remaining in the regular-season finale helped Pittsburgh win its first division title since 2020, and Rodgers secure his his first postseason appearance since 2021.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
17 May 2026
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Leaders of the organization say that in an election year, some lawmakers appeared to have prioritized appearances over the state’s long-term economic growth.—
P.R. Lockhart,
Hartford Courant,
17 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Physiognomy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/physiognomy. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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